PSL CEO, Stan Matthews said Africans must work harder to improve the image of professional football in the continent to inspire confidence and attract investment.

Speaking at the 2012 African Football Executive Confex, Matthews urged delegates to work on relationship building with other countries.

“We have to work on the image of our game in Africa. In the PSL, we have developed different manuals like the club licensing programme, the compliance manual, media manual, marketing manual and so on that that govern our game.

“Our relationship with the English Premier League, the Bundesliga and recently the World League Association has helped our brand immensely. We have learned so much from people who have been willing and open to share with us.

“We have our chairman, Dr Irvin Khoza who has recently been appointed to the World League Association board and we are proud of that. We as the PSL are very open to our African brothers – we believe you can learn from us and we can also learn from you.”

Matthews said it was important for African football to look at ways that will give value to investors in African football. The most important thing, he argued, is to ensure that there is a professional set-up in place.

“The revenue from our broadcaster is about 50% of our revenue. I know that in some parts of the (African) continent, the revenue can be about 90%. When you have a partner who is responsible for so much of your revenue, you have to make sure that you look after their interests. With a partner like SuperSport, we have found a good partner,” he said.

The PSL CEO also touched on the recently bargaining agreement signed between the PSL and SAPFU.
“We are proud of the bargaining agreement we have just signed with our Player’s Union. It is important for us to always be aware that the players are an important aspect of our business.”

Matthews said the PSL was constantly working hard to improve its operations.

“We are always looking at ways to improve, we want to learn and we want to grow all the time. We have open minds. We have had to look at getting the best people and consultants to help us to go another level.
He said the League was determined to provide the best medical practises.

“We have also been working hard to improve our medical processes and strengthening our Medical practices. This is not because of the Fabrice Muamba incident, but it’s something we have been working on for a while now.”